Pohnpei accuses State employee of theft of $5,000

By Bill JaynesThe Kaselehlie PressMarch 6, 2017Pohnpei—On February 14, 2017, Pohnpei State filed a criminal information against Penny Jimmy, an employee of the Department of Education.The Kaselehlie Press previously reported from information obtained from the Executive Branch, that Jimmy had been arrested in August of 2016 after a police investigation claimed that “Jimmy may have funneled over $400,000 dollars’ worth of Department of Education purchasing contracts for supplies into a company that he owns.”The information we published then said that criminal charges would be filed on the basis of the investigation within a month of the arrest but charges weren’t filed until February 14. When they were filed the charges surrounded only $5,000 of personal gain. Apparently the difference in the two amounts is that the $5,000 is the profit he allegedly made on sales from his personal business to Pohnpei State that may have totaled approximately $400,000.The State has accused Jimmy of five counts related to activities between 2009 and 2015. The first count accuses him of having outside employment which under the public service system is against the law for the type of contract he had with the State. The charge says that while he was the Assistant Director for the School Improvement program he was also the sole proprietor of a business that sold Duplo Copymaster products. One of his responsibilities while working for the State was to purchase copy products. The criminal information accuses him of purchasing those supplies from his own company at a profit.The four other charges are “Use of State Property for Information”, “Cheating”, “Grand Larceny” in the amount of $5000, and “Misconduct in Public Office”.Mr. Jimmy has not had his day in court and is innocent unless it is otherwise proven in court.